NFL

Ex-Vikings Pro Bowler Kyle Rudolph: Sam Darnold ‘Going to Cost a Whole Lot More’ After Breakout Season

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D.J. Siddiqi
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D.J. Siddiqi Sports Editor

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Published09 Dec 2024

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SamDarnold

Former Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph isn’t surprised at all over Sam Darnold’s success in his first season with his new team.

The former No. 3 overall pick in the draft is finding success for the first time in his six-year NFL career after failed stints with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. Darnold is coming off of a five-touchdown day against the Vikings’ former star quarterback, Kirk Cousins, and the Atlanta Falcons. He’s led Minnesota to an 11-2 record and has career highs with 28 touchdowns, 3,299 passing yards, a 108.1 passer rating and a 68.4% completion rate.

Rudolph details why Darnold has been able to emerge as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL after failing to display that potential during his previous stops.

“We’re kind of seeing it with Bryce Young right now in Carolina, these top picks at times are dropped into just really, really tough situations,” says Rudolph. “I think as football fans, our expectations are always so high of these top picks that you know they’re going to come in and be like Jayden Daniels and turn a franchise around in year one. It’s not fair for these guys when they go into situations like the one Sam went into when he got drafted by the New York Jets. It’s just no one’s been able to go play well there. How is it fair to judge him based on that?”

The Jets have been one of the most inept franchises in recent years, failing to make it to the playoffs since the 2010 season, the longest drought in the NFL. It’s also of no surprise that they’ve failed to develop a franchise quarterback since that time.

Darnold’s other stop, the Carolina Panthers, have obviously struggled in recent years. While Bryce Young had a disastrous rookie campaign, he has since bounced back and has started to look a little bit like a franchise quarterback since he was benched earlier in the season.

“Then he goes to Carolina for a little while, ultimately goes and plays backup in a great situation in San Francisco last year, where you get to sit behind Brock Purdy, a guy that’s played really, really high level football,” Rudolph explains of Darnold’s career arc. “You’re in the meeting room day after day with an offensive line by Kyle Shanahan and then the next year, you go play in a similar system with a quarterback like Kevin O’Connell who’s gotten high-level quarterback play out of every quarterback he’s been around. You add those things with the supporting cast and that’s how you get the year that Sam Darnold has had.”

Darnold ranks within the top four in every major passing category, including touchdowns, passing yards and passer rating.

Another notable quarterback the Vikings have brought in is none other than Daniel Jones, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The former New York Giants franchise quarterback was unceremoniously dumped after both sides agreed to part ways in the middle of the season. Rudolph says his former teammate could have a similar “bounceback” as Darnold or Pro Bowl quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“I think Daniel can be a guy that has a very similar bounceback as Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield,” says Rudolph. “These quarterbacks who are high draft picks, top five, top 10 draft picks, are in situations that aren’t very good. You could argue that the New York Giants are probably one of the worst possible situations to be in.”

Rudolph brings up a potential scenario where he could see the Vikings potentially turning to Jones as the potential starting quarterback — along with J.J. McCarthy — in 2025 if Darnold is priced out of Minnesota due to his great play.

“You get out of (New York), you remove yourself from it,” says Rudolph. “For him, he gets the opportunity — probably not this year, but who knows? I just talked about the Vikings and their budget for a quarterback. Sam Darnold is going to be pretty expensive next year. If you’re going to re-pay Sam Darnold, it’s going to cost you a whole lot more than it cost you this year. Now you have the opportunity to evaluate Daniel Jones over the next six-to-eight weeks, however far they go in the playoffs, and make a decision. Is he the guy we want to compete with J.J. McCarthy next year to be our starting QB or not?”

Rudolph doubles down on the notion that Jones’ “situation” in Minnesota is perfect for him.

“For me personally, knowing DJ as well as I know him, knowing Kevin O’Connell and the situation in Minnesota, I think it’s a great situation for DJ and I completely see why that’s where he decided to go and spend the rest of this year,” Rudolph said.

While the possibility of the VIkings having to look for Darnold’s replacement next season looms, the Atlanta Falcons face a similar — but different — situation with Cousins. Atlanta signed the 36-year-old Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal in the offseason, only to select Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

The Falcons are still in the thick of the playoff, just a game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the division lead. Helping matters is that Atlanta holds the tiebreaker after defeating Tampa Bay both times in their regular season matchups.

However, Rudolph still believes the Buccaneers are the favorite to win the NFC South and brings up the possibility of turning to Penix if they’re out of the hunt by the end of the season.

“They’re going to have to go win big games and then if you’re Atlanta and you get down to it the last couple weeks a year and you’re not in the NFC South playoff race anymore, why would you not want Michael Penix out there getting game experience,” asks Rudolph. “Getting a chance to see what he has on Sundays in the NFL at that level — it would be interesting the way the next five weeks play out. Personally, I think the Bucs are going to come out of the NFC South. 

“I think you look at the stretch that they went on, they lost four really close games in a row to some pretty good football teams and then you look at the stretch they have coming up the last five weeks — I just think their schedule is more favorable,” says Rudolph.

Rudolph also shuts down the notion of the Falcons turning to Penix due to Cousins’ struggles while they’re in the playoff hunt. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback threw two interceptions in the loss to the Vikings and has eight interceptions in the fourth quarter of games this year — the most of any quarterback in the NFL.

“If you’re in the playoff race and Kirk Cousins is healthy, he’s your quarterback,” says Rudolph. 

Although Rudolph is best known for his 12-year NFL playing career with the Buccaneers, the New York Giants and Vikings, he began his career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Rudolph — who played at Notre Dame from 2008 until 2010 — has high hopes for this year’s team as they enter the College Football Playoff as the No. 7 seed. The Irish will host the No. 10-seeded Indiana Hoosiers in the first round of the College Football Playoff at South Bend.

Rudolph explains why the Fighting Irish have an advantage in their first playoff game.

“They have to come to South Bend in December, looks like it could potentially be a night game, that’s going to be tough,” says Rudolph. “College football kids aren’t used to playing — NFL guys are — in the NFL you play into mid-January. These guys are used to during December and early January being in some warm bowl climate and getting ready for a bowl game. They’re not used to playing in snow in South Bend. I like our chances in the first round, ultimately having a home playoff game.”

While Rudolph is high in his alma mater winning their first playoff game, he stopped short of making a bold prediction that the Fighting Irish will advance any deeper or win their first National Championship since 1988.

“We’ll see how it shakes out,” says Rudolph. “They’ve kind of gotten better as the year goes on, week in and week out, the run game’s always been there and now you’re getting more out of Riley Leonard as a passer. I think with the defense they have, how Al Golden’s got those guys playing at an extremely high level, if there’s a year in which it’s tied to anyone’s National Championship, I’d argue it’s this year.

“I’d love to see the opportunity to win the first national championship since 1988,” Rudolph continues to say. “It’s a place where you go there to play in these situations. Anything can happen, I’d love to see them make a deep run in this first College Football Playoffs.”